Summary: \u00a0As the Cartwright brothers and Candy travel home from Sacramento in the summer of 1862, the journey takes an unexpected, and possibly deadly, twist, leaving Ben worried, with no idea what kind of mess they’re tangled in, who the enemy is, or what is wanted.<\/p>\n
Rated:\u00a0 K+<\/p>\n
Word Count:\u00a0 14,800<\/p>\n
Story Notes: \u00a0<\/strong>A summer 2019 Round Robin Challenge. \u00a0Bonanza Brand writers were invited to submit an opening chapter that would leave the reader wanting to know more. \u00a0Members voted on their favorite submission and the top three openings were selected for completion.\u00a0 Over the summer, six to eight authors participated in finishing the story, including working through developmental and line edits and re-writes as needed.<\/p>\n The participants in this story were (in alphabetical order): \u00a0BakerJ, BettyHT. Cheaux, JFClover, Puchi Ann, SJR Cartwright, and sklamb.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Shadows and Fears<\/strong><\/p>\n Chapter 1<\/p>\n Light from the fireplace flickered across the furniture, casting odd gloomy shapes against the dusky walls.\u00a0 The flames threw enough light though to highlight the crags and valleys of the worry lines on Ben Cartwright’s face.\u00a0 The day had been blistering hot, but the night was chilly enough for a fire.\u00a0 He wondered if his sons had reached the mountains so they could rest in the cool air or if they were suffering from the heat wave.\u00a0 A brandy sat untouched and forgotten on the side table with the still-rolled newspaper. The hour was late enough that he should be sleeping, but he sat with his chin resting on his clasped hands and thought about the telegram, which had brought hope when he received it.\u00a0 Optimism had turned to concern as his sons failed to return home as expected.\u00a0 Worries of what could have happened roiled his mind. Most centered on the aftermath of the altercation between Adam and Joe six weeks earlier.\u00a0 It had ended after two weeks with Adam heading to San Francisco early to attend to some ranch business. At the same time, Joe took the horses to Sacramento to satisfy a contract for the Ponderosa there.\u00a0 Joe had plans to take extended time Sacramento so that Adam could meet with him there after concluding his business in San Francisco, and they could talk.\u00a0 Then both were planning to rendezvous with Hoss when he arrived in Sacramento with the cattle drive. Ben had hoped time would heal the rift if both could do some soul searching and reflection.<\/p>\n Over the years, Adam and Joe frequently had disputes, but this one had been odd.\u00a0 Usually Joe’s emotional response to Adam’s insensitivity had sparked the explosion, but this time Adam had unexpectedly erupted over something rather innocuous Joe had said. The tirade had seemingly caught the younger man by surprise as much as he had often done to his older brother.\u00a0 As Joe had frequently been forced to do, Adam apologized, but again, with one as insincere as Joe’s claims of regret usually were when he was still upset.\u00a0 When his mask wasn’t in place, the glares from those hazel eyes at his youngest brother made his lingering resentment obvious.\u00a0 Hurt but apparently confused, Joe claimed not to know why his brother had unleashed such fury on him but seemed to have a difficult time looking his father in the eye when he said that.\u00a0 It was impossible to know whether if guilt motivated that reaction.\u00a0 Hoss was puzzled, and Adam wasn’t talking to anyone. Adam’s response at least was typical. Unfortunately, the brothers found themselves so tied up with ranch business, Hoss didn’t have time to work his magic on his brothers and draw out what had gone wrong.<\/p>\n When both Adam and Joe left on business, Hoss ended up handling the small cattle drive with Candy as his ramrod.\u00a0 When the telegram arrived with those precious words that all was well and letting Ben know his sons were coming home together and Candy, he felt great relief.\u00a0 Because of that message, Ben had thought all the issues were resolved, but didn’t know what to think of the delay. They were late and it would be dawn in a few hours.\u00a0 Noise outside alerted him to someone arriving. In his robe he moved toward the front entrance and picked up his pistol before cautiously opening the door only to have one son enter carrying another who was bruised and battered.\u00a0 Exhausted and staggering with his brother in his arms, he nearly fell stumbling against the door.\u00a0 Ben quickly moved in to help and carefully accepted the burden.\u00a0 Noting how filthy and sweat-soaked his injured son was, he carried him into the downstairs guest room and gently settled him on the bed.\u00a0 As Ben leaned down to begin wiping away the blood trickling from cuts on that battered face, Hop Sing was there to provide wet cloths.\u00a0 Ben didn’t need to ask for more as Hop Sing scurried away to bring what he needed to care for his son.<\/p>\n “I think he’ll be all right, Pa.\u00a0 It looks awful, but from what I could see, he did what he could to defend himself.\u00a0 I doubt he saw it coming.”<\/p>\n “What happened?”<\/p>\n “We were nearly home, but we was so dead beat tired we couldn’t make it.\u00a0 We had to camp one more night. Candy and I went down to water the horses and, when we come back, he was like this.” Looking down at his injured brother, he had tears in his eyes.\u00a0 “It took all we could do to get him home.\u00a0 We grabbed what we needed and left the rest.\u00a0 Candy headed to town to get the doctor when we got close enough.”<\/p>\n “Where’s your other brother?”<\/p>\n “I don’t know, Pa.\u00a0 Going back to camp, I maybe saw what looked like him, riding away like the devil was on his back. Pa, I hate to say it, but I didn’t see nothing to say he didn’t do this.”<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Chapter 2<\/p>\n Cracked ribs. Throbbing headache, sore shoulder\u2014cracked collarbone as well, most likely. He’d known from the time he’d received the coded telegram it was urgent to accomplish his mission but hadn’t guessed how urgently others would try to prevent him. If he’d dallied just a few more moments with his brother . . . if he’d bothered to unsaddle his horse after they’d decided to make camp . . . if he hadn’t been supremely lucky in a moment of sudden violence, he wouldn’t have made it this far before dawn. He might not have made it anywhere. It hadn’t been his collarbone they were trying to smash, but his skull. Not even a head of granite can withstand a well-swung bludgeon.<\/p>\n Men had already been dying on the battlefield for more than a year; why hadn’t he realized he’d be running the same risk himself? He didn’t need a uniform to threaten his country’s enemies. Nevada’s silver was the lifeblood of the Union\u2014well, a very important resource, at the least. Guarding it from piracy and theft, especially theft by southern sympathizers, was as vital for the North’s success as any army maneuvers. During the meeting in San Francisco, he’d had his doubts about Confederate agents being much of a risk in California, let alone Nevada, but clearly he’d been wrong. Almost dead wrong.<\/p>\n At least he’d tried to clear the air with Joe while he’d had the chance. Pa wouldn’t have any talk of the war at home, not even the sidelong allusive taunts about Adam’s “Yankee abolitionist schoolfriends,” which had become Joe’s best effort to comment on their differing opinions about it. He’d never had a chance to explain to Joe that Harvard valued her lavish-spending, gentlemanly southern students much too highly to be anything like a hotbed of abolitionism. Adam’s instinctive horror of reducing any human being to property had only marked him out as a provincial and a crank. He’d made just a handful of friends, most of them farm boys as poor as himself, like the man he’d unexpectedly run into again at the secret meeting just last week in San Francisco. \u00a0Adam’s highfaluting education had always been a favorite source for Joe’s jibes, but lately the references to “back East” had turned nastier\u2014angry, even\u2014until at last Adam could stand no more. Joe had known better than to probe that sore spot again.<\/p>\n In Sacramento Adam’s long-delayed explanations had left his brother quiet and thoughtful. He didn’t go so far as to tell his brother exactly what he was doing for the Union, but if the truth came out\u2014or if worse than that happened\u2014he at least wanted Joe to understand why he was doing it. At the time he’d believed his tactic had worked. A diehard secessionist might have accused him of thinking Joe fickle, but Adam had been sure that no Cause, however persuasively argued, would ever matter as much to Joe as one living, breathing person\u2014even if it was just his stubborn older brother.<\/p>\n And then, just as they started the ride home, it had all come apart again, and he really wasn’t sure why.<\/p>\n Even before they reached Placerville, Joe had gone back to glaring at him whenever he tried to make friendly conversation. Which, in fairness, he hadn’t very often. It was hotter more humid than he could ever remember California’s weather being, with a nasty headwind that smothered him in dust and gave him a headache. Even sleeping seemed impossible. Then there was the telegram\u2014not what he’d expected, not by a long shot\u2014and waiting to pick up the package he’d half-believed would never exist. Joe’d supported him on making the delay, but only to get a beer or two with Hoss and Candy while they waited. Or so the boy had said\u2014and not politely, either.<\/p>\n Afterwards, Hoss had pushed hard as he could for home, and Adam had been glad to do the same, even knowing there’d likely be an awkward confrontation with Pa waiting for him there, and certainly a hasty trip on to Fort Churchill. He’d gone into this with his eyes open; no point whining that things were happening too soon. There was a war on, after all.<\/p>\n It was the horses that made them call a halt not long after they’d cleared the pass, but he’d been so worn down that once he’d slid from the saddle he couldn’t stand up again. Had he fallen asleep sitting there, still holding onto Sport’s reins? He couldn’t remember anything until Joe’s gentle, persistent whisper, \u201cWhat’s driving you, Adam? Why are you so tired you can’t even look after your horse?\u201d<\/p>\n God help me, I told him why. It wasn’t what I meant to do, but I told him<\/em>.<\/p>\n And Joe, wide-eyed, had responded, \u201cI think there’s someone following us. Reckon they’re after you?\u201d<\/p>\n That had woken him up, all right. Sent him back into the saddle and out of the camp, not caring which way he rode as long as it was away<\/em>. Then, only a handful of strides later, a deadfall that shouldn’t have been there had caused Sport to stumble, and . . . well, he was here and safe for the moment, at least. Wherever here might be. In spite of those damned bludgeons.<\/p>\n For a moment he wondered what the men who’d waylaid him had done once he’d thrown himself back across Sport’s back and broken away. Would they have followed him at once, or backtracked to the camp? If they suspected Joe knew anything much about Adam’s plans\u2014anything at all\u2014they might have turned on him<\/em>. Joe was a game bare-knuckle fighter, but small and light enough to ride for the Pony Express; no match for thugs with bludgeons. If his brief moments of explanation had put his brother in danger . . . .<\/p>\n Adam put the worry aside with deliberate effort. Hoss couldn’t have been far away, after all. And there was the new fellow, Candy. Adam didn’t know much about him, but Hoss and Joe seemed to like and trust him, and he looked to be a good man in a scrap. Joe was safe enough with them, surely. He had enough troubles of his own now without spending thought on ones he couldn’t do anything to solve.<\/p>\n Sport’s bridle jingled softly; the horse was grazing casually, nibbling his way from one especially juicy tuft of greenery to the next. At least one of them had recovered from the stress of the previous night. He needed to get them moving again, however little rest he’d managed on his own account. The Cause, he muttered wryly to himself, fighting the Cause was all that should worry him for now. Pity his eyelids had gotten so heavy . . . .<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Chapter 3<\/p>\n While they waited for Dr. Martin, the three men at the Ponderosa got Little Joe settled into the downstairs guestroom where it was much cooler.\u00a0 Then Hoss tried to explain what had happened, at least the little bit that he could figure out.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to get back like we said we would, but Adam had some kind of business in Placerville, he said.\u00a0 Don’t know what kind.\u00a0 You know how close to his vest Adam keeps his private business.\u00a0 Seems like maybe Joe mighta had some idea though, and the two of them was back at each other again.\u201d\u00a0 Seeing his father’s arched eyebrow, he gulped and plunged on.\u00a0 \u201cWell, anyway, that’s why we was late.\u00a0 Mostly it was that, but it was the weather too.\u00a0 It was so dadblamed hot that it near melted the shoes right off the horses.\u00a0 It was hard with that wind every day and the dust blowing in our eyes.\u00a0 By the time we got as far as we did yesterday, we had to stop.\u00a0 We didn’t want to, but the horses couldn’t go much further without a break, and then it’d be dark.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut everything was all right until then?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell mostly I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMostly you guess?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we took the horses up to water ’em, Joe went back to see what was keeping Adam.\u00a0\u00a0At least that’s what I think he was gonna talk to him about.\u00a0\u00a0Them two was having some conversations that they didn\u2019t share with me.\u00a0\u00a0We don’t know if he ever did talk to him though.\u00a0\u00a0The water where we were is almost like a waterfall the way it rushes down over them rocks and makes a racket.\u00a0\u00a0We couldn’t hear nothing.\u00a0\u00a0Then the horses were watered, and we started back.\u00a0\u00a0It was getting near full dark before we went back toward where we were gonna camp.”<\/p>\n \u201cSo it was almost dark, and you saw Adam riding away.\u00a0\u00a0Are you sure it was Adam?\u00a0\u00a0Did you see anyone else?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPretty sure it was Adam, Pa, and I didn’t see nobody else, and that’s when we found Joe.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0He choked as he again voiced his regret.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cPa, I’d sure change things if I could.\u00a0\u00a0I feel plumb awful about it.\u00a0\u00a0I was standing up there thinking about how nice it’d be to maybe sit in that water and get cooled off and clean for the first time in days and maybe wash the dust outta my clothes too and outta every other place it had got to.\u00a0\u00a0I even thought we could catch some fish in the morning for breakfast.\u00a0\u00a0Meanwhile, Joe was gettin’ the life beat outta him, and Adam was runnin’ off for some reason, and I weren’t no help to neither of ’em jest thinkin’ of myself.\u00a0\u00a0I didn’t mean to say earlier that Adam coulda done this.\u00a0\u00a0It’s just that I don’t know who else coulda done it not seeing nobody else there.\u00a0\u00a0I don’t understand what happened at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben laid a hand on the young man’s slumped shoulder.\u00a0 Much as he, too, wished things had been different, there was no blame to be levied here.\u00a0 \u201cI know, son, I know.\u201d\u00a0 Although of course, he didn’t know and wished he did.\u00a0 Questions were eating away at him too.<\/p>\n The first amber-streaked rays of dawn were just breaking the horizon when the doctor finally arrived, accompanied by Sheriff Coffee, and Ben ushered them into the guest room.\u00a0 Seeing the trio enter, Hoss set aside the cool cloth with which he’d been bathing his brother’s damaged face, and Hop Sing stepped away from the other side of the bed to make room for the doctor.<\/p>\n As usual, Dr. Martin gave his patient a thorough examination, and without comment pulled the sheet back over the young man and slowly placed his instruments back into his leather case.<\/p>\n \u2018Well?\u201d Ben demanded when he could bear the suffocating silence no longer.<\/p>\n Dr. Martin turned toward Ben and pointed to the door.\u00a0 Once they were outside the room, Paul pulled the door closed, and Hoss immediately questioned him.<\/p>\n \u201cHow bad, Doc?\u00a0 He’s gonna be okay, ain’t he?\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Martin raised a finger to his lips for silence. \u201cHe might be able to hear us.\u00a0 He is warm to the touch and that’s a good sign.\u00a0 Has he stirred at all?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, he moans and lets us know when we do something he doesn’t like.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBen, that’s good.\u00a0 That a sign that he’s responsive and that his head injury may not be as severe as it appears.\u00a0 Hoss, when did this happen and how long had it been since he had any sleep?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat has that got to do with anything?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBen, exhaustion with a slight head injury can make it look like there is a more severe injury.\u00a0 Now, Hoss, how long?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe got up before dawn every day and pushed hard.\u00a0 We all know how Joe likes to sleep in, but we woke him every morning as soon as Adam was awake.\u00a0 Adam woke all of us every morning.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo, Joe was already tired.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, he was plumb tuckered out.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t just the not sleeping.\u00a0 It was so hot and humid for a few days there, we near melted to our saddles.\u00a0 He was the one suggested we make camp one more night.\u00a0 Adam wanted to push on as soon as the horses were rested, but Joe said he couldn’t go another mile and Adam gave in.\u00a0 We was all pretty beat.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll know more in a day or two, but exhaustion, especially heat exhaustion, could cause many of these symptoms.\u00a0 He may have a mild concussion as well though.\u00a0 I\u2019ll know more when he wakes and after he\u2019s had some rest and some fluids.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben and Hoss were reassured by the doctor’s words and hopeful.\u00a0 Roy was concerned.<\/p>\n \u201cGuess there ain’t no use in askin’ if he said who done it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Hoss said, hesitating a moment before he added, \u201cbut . . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Ben broke in to say firmly, \u201che’s said nothing.\u00a0 Roy, it happened outside the Ponderosa.\u00a0 That’s hardly in your jurisdiction.\u201d<\/p>\n I know, Ben.\u00a0 I was hoping to help out.\u00a0 If the man who did it comes to town, I could arrest him.\u00a0 Just have to pray Joe comes around soon, then, before the brute gets plumb away.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Ben said absently, trying to ignore the intruding image of someone pummeling his youngest like a brute beast, as mercilessly as John C. Regan once had.\u00a0 He had to banish the thought that Hoss had planted that it could be Adam because he knew it couldn’t be true, but he wondered what the truth was.<\/p>\n The door to Joe’s room opened and Hop Sing spoke softly to them.\u00a0 \u201cMr. Ben, he move.\u201d<\/p>\n Pulling the door wide open, Ben rushed to his son’s side as the others crowded around the bed.\u00a0 Taking Joe’s hand, he spoke gently.<\/p>\n \u201cJoseph, son, can you hear me?”<\/p>\n There was no verbal response at first, but there was a moan.\u00a0 Then after another moan and a few whimpers, there was a faint murmur.\u00a0 “Pa?”<\/p>\n \u201cBen, ask him who done it.\u201d Sheriff Coffee was direct.<\/p>\n Ben shook his head.\u00a0 Though he knew the question had to be asked sometime, he couldn’t get the words past the knot in his throat and didn’t want to force his suffering son to relive what must have been a horrific time for him.<\/p>\n \u201cHe’s too weak.\u201d\u00a0 He whispered and prayed the doctor would back him up.<\/p>\n Before the doctor had that opportunity, however, Sheriff Coffee raised his voice and loudly asked the question himself.\u00a0 \u201cJoe, who did this to you, boy?\u201d<\/p>\n The reply, if, indeed, it was one, was barely audible.\u00a0 Nonetheless, everyone in the room heard it.<\/p>\n “Ad-Adam.”<\/p>\n Little Joe’s eyes opened for only a few seconds, he whimpered, and his fluttering eyes closed again.\u00a0 In the sudden silence of the room, the dropping of the proverbial pin would have shaken the walls like a clap of thunder.\u00a0 Ben found his voice first.<\/p>\n “He doesn’t know what he’s saying.” He looked to the doctor for confirmation.<\/p>\n “He may not.” Dr. Martin agreed, speaking in that soft bedside voice.<\/p>\n “Adam would never . . .”\u00a0 Ben could say no more, only glance pleadingly from one face to another, praying they’d agree.\u00a0 It wasn’t true. He didn’t believe it could be true.<\/p>\n Roy Coffee\u2019s voice was gentle but firm.\u00a0 “Where, exactly, is Adam?”<\/p>\n “We don’t know, Roy,” Hoss replied after waiting a moment for his father to answer.\u00a0 “Last I saw, he was ridin’ west.”<\/p>\n In his best lawman mode, Roy pressed, “You saw him ridin’ away from the boy?”<\/p>\n Licking his lower lip, Hoss nodded grimly.<\/p>\n “If this had happened in town, you know what I would have to do.”<\/p>\n “Roy, it didn’t, and he wouldn’t.\u00a0 He has loved and watched over this boy from the moment of his birth.” Ben was indignant.\u00a0 \u201cYou know him almost as well as we do.\u00a0 I can’t believe you would think what you’re implying.\u00a0 There’s an explanation for all this.\u00a0 We know there has to be.”<\/p>\n “And Adam can make it, once you find him or he comes home.” Roy shook his head. “Sorry, Ben.” He left the room quickly.<\/p>\n “Pa, what\u2014what should I do?” Hoss asked.\u00a0 His gaze fell on his little brother.\u00a0 He was visibly loath to leave without knowing the boy would be all right, but he had another brother, too.\u00a0 Torn in two directions and by two directly opposite but equally strong emotions, he turned, as he had from early boyhood, to his father for guidance.<\/p>\n Ben understood the turmoil, but for him, the dilemma was easily answered.\u00a0 “Get some of our men together to go after Adam or find some who will.\u00a0 I can look after Joe, and you can be there for Adam.\u00a0 He needs you.”<\/p>\n “Yes, sir, I think he does.\u00a0 I think I’ll see ifn Candy will head out with me.\u00a0 We can see what other men might go with us or maybe it will be only the two of us.”\u00a0 With a final, aching glance at Little Joe, Hoss left the room.\u00a0 He grabbed his gun belt from the credenza and snatched his hat from the rack before flinging open the front door, almost colliding with Candy on the way out.<\/p>\n “Whoa, buddy,” Candy said, holding the big man at arms’ length.\u00a0 “How’s Joe doin\u2019?”<\/p>\n “I gotta go find Adam, Candy.\u00a0 You willin\u2019 to help me?”<\/p>\n “Saw Roy ride out.”\u00a0 Candy’s face took on a grim cast.\u00a0 “You told him then what we saw?\u00a0 There gonna be a posse?”<\/p>\n “Nope to both.\u00a0 Outta his jurisdiction, and I didn’t tell him nothing.”\u00a0 Hoss looked the foreman full in the face and choked out, “But Joe called him by name.”<\/p>\n “Joe named Adam?”\u00a0 Candy shook his head.\u00a0 “Can’t believe it.\u00a0 I know they rub each other raw at times, but I wouldn’t have thought a Cartwright could do that.”<\/p>\n Candy had been a loner when he first came to the Ponderosa, unable to trust any man.\u00a0 Over the time he had been there, though, the Cartwrights had become for him the epitome of men you could count on, the epitome, as well, of family love and loyalty.\u00a0 For one of them to do to another what had been done to Joe was unthinkable.<\/p>\n Hoss exploded.\u00a0 “You wouldn’t!\u00a0 How do you think I feel?”<\/p>\n “Like a man sawn in half, I reckon.\u00a0 I’ll ride with you, Hoss.”<\/p>\n “Thank you.\u00a0 I want some answers.\u00a0 There darn well better be a good reason for what happened.”\u00a0 Hoss stalked toward the barn emotionally and physically exhausted.<\/p>\n Candy wouldn’t voice the fear that rose in him as he followed in Hoss’s wake, but he knew he had to be there when the big man confronted his older brother.\u00a0\u00a0 He worried Hoss might not control his urge to literally saw Adam in half for what he feared he had done to their little brother and Candy’s best friend.\u00a0 Then again, if he really had, Candy figured he might just hand Hoss the saw himself.\u00a0 But, he figured he owed Adam the right to explain first, and it was going to be his job to make sure Hoss gave him that chance.<\/p>\n Before Hoss and Candy got a chance to ask the men they wanted to go with them, Roy was back.\u00a0 He looked a bit sheepish.<\/p>\n “Hoss, I pushed too hard in there. \u00a0I was upset and let it affect what I said.\u00a0 I’m right sorry about that.\u00a0 What I should have said I’m saying now.\u00a0 I’m willing to go along with you as a friend to find Adam and figure out what happened.\u00a0 I’m pretty good at figuring out things like this.”<\/p>\n “Roy, it’s a family matter.”<\/p>\n Putting his hand on Hoss’ arm, Candy got the big man to pause.\u00a0 “You’ve told me more than once that Roy’s almost like family, practically like an uncle to you and your brothers.\u00a0 Besides, he might come in handy if we have to talk to anybody in authority.\u00a0 I know he has no jurisdiction, but people know him.\u00a0 They might be willing to help us out more if he’s with us.\u00a0 It sure can’t hurt.”<\/p>\n “Hoss, I was thinking I could send wires to any towns with a telegraph line, too.\u00a0 See if anyone has heard anything or if anyone sees Adam, they could let us know.\u00a0 I’m guessing you might head toward Placerville.\u00a0 I could tell them to send information there, as well as here.”<\/p>\n “All right, Roy.\u00a0 Glad to have you with us and not against us.\u00a0 You go ahead and send those wires.\u00a0 As to the rest, I’ll let you know.\u00a0 It’s gonna take us a bit to git organized here and ready to go.”<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Chapter 4<\/p>\n He woke abruptly to the sound of hoofbeats, and the creaking of heavy-laden saddles that told him they weren’t loose horses on the trail. Before Sport could call out to them, he reached up and wrapped his sound arm around the trailing reins, pulling himself to his knees and the horse’s head against his chest. As the other animals came closer, he made out soft voices\u2014one from Texas maybe, the other unsettlingly like Roy Coffee’s easy drawl. Men riding without haste to a new tactical position in the faint light of dusk\u2014or dawn?<\/p>\n “The others skedaddled home like rabbits, but ain’t no sign of the one we’re after. Looks like he’s cut off up here, and he can’t go on hiding for long.”<\/p>\n “Even if he can, we win\u2014that book won’t move if he don’t. Unless he handed it off to one of the others, of course.”<\/p>\n “No chance of that. He’s the onliest Yank in the pack of ’em. I’m a tad surprised he ain’t already raised a squad of his own and lit out back east to fight.”<\/p>\n “The old man’d have put his foot down, that’s why not . . . .”<\/p>\n Adam had long since become accustomed to the idea that, all over California as well as Nevada, people he’d never met thought they knew more about his family than he did. Hearing these men was strangely like being bludgeoned again; except this time the impact wasn’t crushing pain but clarity. His brother’s incalculable behavior suddenly made perfect sense. Joe wasn’t angry that he was siding with the Union; Joe was afraid he’d use the war as an excuse to go back east. Had Joe ever stopped believing Adam thought of Boston as “home?” Maybe not.<\/p>\n The Texan’s louder voice recalled Adam’s attention to the present. “Pity those hotheads pounded the kid flat. We-all mighta made good use of him. Lives right by the Comstock, knows everyone in the Territory, got a soft spot for the South by all accounts.”<\/p>\n “You’ve got a soft spot in your<\/em> head if you think he’d go against his brother. Better just swat them both down and be done with it, and lucky we did it so easy. Not a bad couple of days work, all told. Two Cartwrights less in Nevada and that nuisance Miller dead. Maybe even a little money to be made. Reckon the captain ought to be pleased with us.” The unseen man punctuated his final comment with the gurgle of liquid flowing from some container.<\/p>\n “He won’t be if he sees you drinking that,” his partner said wryly.<\/p>\n “Just have to make sure he doesn’t, then. You want some?”<\/p>\n “Thought you’d never ask.” There was a pause, then another brief gurgle. “Say this for old man Cartwright, he’s got a good taste in whiskey. Better than his taste in politics.” The muffled hoofbeats and squeaking leather faded slowly away.<\/p>\n The bludgeons were back again, and back to dealing pain almost worse than physical. Joe “pounded flat?” Miller\u2014his old and rediscovered comrade\u2014dead? That left only the little book in his shirt pocket to show for all their effort and sacrifice, and, somewhere not far away, a captain with\u2014how many?\u2014soldiers intent on “making a little money.” Not Union soldiers now . . . not soldiers at all, anymore, except by training and experience. More dangerous, not less, for having laid their uniforms aside.<\/p>\n Had it been hours ago? Days?\u00a0 He couldn’t seem to focus beyond his own pain and exhaustion.\u00a0 In blurry recollections of the melee, he seemed to hear Joe call his name.\u00a0 Was it a cry for help\u2014or a prayer for him to get away?\u00a0 Doubt and fear gnawed at Adam’s mind.<\/p>\n At least he now knew where he was. Behind him stretched a view of Lake Tahoe that rivalled Heaven itself. He didn’t know if he’d ever believed in Heaven, but a glimpse of those cool blue waters had always refreshed his spirits. As tensions between North and South grew, he’d come up here more and more often; no wonder Sport had learned the route well enough to find it on his own. No one, he knew, could see this tiny glade from any of the paths across the mountains. If he stayed put, he was safe for as long as his supplies lasted . . . but if he stayed put, the Union lost out. The man with the voice like Coffee’s had it right.<\/p>\n Sport was bored with being kept still and silent. He rubbed his heavy head against Adam’s chest, looking for carrots or sugar perhaps, then butted him hard in the ear. “Take it easy,” Adam whispered. “I know I’ve been neglecting you. Just a little longer, and we’ll get this over with. I’m just as confused as you are, boy.” He got one leg under himself and started to rise to his feet.<\/p>\n The horse gave him another poke, and this one landed square on his damaged collarbone. Heaven flared into a white blaze of pain and went black.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n By early afternoon the following day Hoss, Candy, Roy and two ranch hands arrived at the last campsite the Cartwrights and Candy had set up on their way home.\u00a0 Hoss signaled a halt at the edge of the clearing.\u00a0 No words were spoken as the men took in the carnage:\u00a0 camp gear and saddle bags strewn about, burnt food in the fire ring, overturned coffee pot, bed rolls up turned, and blood in the dirt.<\/p>\n Candy was the first to break the silence.\u00a0 \u201cWe found Little Joe halfway into the brush by that tree on the right at the edge of the circle.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t appear you disturbed the area much,\u201d Roy said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we saw how bad he was hurt, we just bundled him up and rode for home.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t pay attention to none of this.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss waved his hand over the campsite.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t remember that before.\u201d\u00a0 Candy pointed to trampled ground and broken bushes on the left side of the clearing.\u00a0 \u201cSport and Cochise were tethered to the bushes when Hoss and I took our horses to be watered.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, that\u2019s right,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cAnd later we found Cochise loose.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t think about it at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n Roy stood in his stirrups to get a better view, but his eyes weren\u2019t as good as they once were, and thick clouds had cast deep shadows over the whole scene.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss, you read sign better than any man I know.\u00a0 Take a look.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss dismounted and ground tied Chubby.\u00a0 He stepped into the clearing careful to avoid areas with foot or hoof prints.\u00a0 Anyone less skilled at reading spoor would have seen only well-worn paths and not noticed the small distinguishing marks that told a story.\u00a0 Hoss walked the perimeter slowly with his back bent, squatting down now and then to study the patterns in the dirt.\u00a0 When he came full circle, he straightened up and examined the area around the fire ring.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam bought new boots in San Francisco.\u201d Hoss pointed to one set of prints.\u00a0 \u201cSee here . . . square nails on the heel, no wear on the sole.\u00a0 Little Joe\u2019s prints are here.\u00a0 He tends to roll his right foot.\u00a0 See the worn outside edge and here . . . there\u2019s a gouge on the left toe from when he kicked the outhouse over.\u201d<\/p>\n Roy raised his eyebrow.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t ask.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss then escorted Roy over to the left side of the clearing where Sport and Cochise had been tethered and pointed to the dirt.<\/p>\n Roy looked back and forth between the fire ring and the trampled ground.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, I know you\u2019re tryin\u2019 to tell me something, but I don\u2019t follow.\u00a0 Spit it out, boy!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLook closely.\u00a0 This dirt\u2019s been scuffed up to hide tracks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWith a stick?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOr a boot with a gouge.\u201d<\/p>\n The light dawned.\u00a0 \u201cLittle Joe covered up Adam\u2019s tracks!\u00a0 But why?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThose big ears of his musta heard somethin\u2019 . . . somethin\u2019 worrisome enough to send Adam packin\u2019,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cHe wouldn\u2019t have otherwise abandoned Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd scary enough for Joe to conceal the direction of Adam\u2019s escape,\u201d added Candy who had joined Hoss and Roy in the circle.\u00a0 All three men stood with hands on hips and surveyed the campsite again.<\/p>\n Roy shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cAll these other tracks?\u00a0 How many men do you think?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHard to tell.\u00a0 Five, six, maybe more.\u201d<\/p>\n Bill, one of the ranch hands, checked the ground around the outside of the clearing.\u00a0 \u201cLooks like they came into camp from this direction.\u201d\u00a0 He dismounted and followed the tracks inside the circle.\u00a0 \u201cThen it looks like they all jumped on Joe and took the fight into the bramble.\u201d<\/p>\n Roy nodded.\u00a0 \u201cAccounts for some of those cuts on Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCould be,\u201d Candy said. \u201cLeave it to Joe to raise a ruckus to give Adam more time to get away.\u201d<\/p>\n Simon, the other member of the group, added, \u201cThe saddle bags have all been turned out and the bed rolls ripped.\u00a0 They were looking for something.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe cattle drive money?\u201d Roy asked Hoss.<\/p>\n \u201cWe paid the men after the drive and I banked the rest.\u201d\u00a0 Whatever these men wanted with his older brother; robbery wasn\u2019t the motive.\u00a0 But what was?<\/p>\n Just then the sun reappeared.\u00a0 A glint caught Candy\u2019s eye.\u00a0 He crossed to the fire ring and \u00a0picked up an object.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is it?\u201d Roy asked.<\/p>\n Candy held up the broken neck of a bottle.\u00a0 \u201cLooks like whoever it was found the bottles of Jameson we bought as a surprise for Mr. Cartwright\u2019s birthday.\u201d\u00a0 Kneeling, Candy poked in the dirt. \u201cNew Orleans Kip Brogan.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSay what?\u201d Roy asked.<\/p>\n \u201cTwo rows of pegs and a pegged heel.\u00a0 I\u2019d bet at least one of them is a soldier.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUnion or Confederate?\u201d asked Hoss.<\/p>\n \u201cEither.\u00a0 Brogans were mass produced before the war started.\u00a0 Early volunteers on both sides bought them up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat would soldiers want with Adam?\u201d asked Bill.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy would Adam run from them?\u201d asked Simon.\u00a0 \u201cAnd why would they beat Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAny answers would be conjecture at this point,\u201d Roy said.\u00a0 \u201cWhat we need now is for Joe to tell us what happened.\u00a0 Hoss, you said Adam headed west.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYessir.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhoever these men are, they most likely took after Adam.\u00a0 We can pick up his trail with your help and continue on.\u00a0 Candy, I suggest you ride back to the Ponderosa and find out what Joe remembers.\u00a0\u00a0Send a wire to the sheriffs in every town in a 200-mile radius.\u00a0 My deputy can get you the names.\u00a0 We\u2019ll check in wherever the trail leads us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLeave word if you find Adam or move on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWill do, son.\u00a0 Now get going.\u201d<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n In another camp, whiskey bottles passed from man to man around the fire, while their officers mapped out the squad’s next moves a short distance away. Obedient to the captain’s orders, the men spoke barely above a whisper, but their mood was largely cheerful. A manhunt always provided plenty of amusement. They’d already made one kill and netted a valuable piece of missing property, with another day’s sport ahead of them. And if there was any chance of herding part of California into the secessionist camp, or, better yet, taking control of Nevada’s silver-laden deserts, that would be a heavy blow indeed against the Yankees! It didn’t seem so improbable now, having prevailed against two members of the infamous Cartwright family, those wealthy do-gooders who felt they alone were the dispensers of justice in the Nevada territory. Cartwrights!\u00a0 Cowards all \u2013 and, now, hopefully, fewer of them would be around.<\/p>\n There was silence in another part of the camp.\u00a0 Silence born of pride and of fear.\u00a0 Bound securely to a tree, the stolen property watched with disdain the doings of the half-drunken men.\u00a0 Stolen once.\u00a0 Stolen again.\u00a0 Silence would be small protection, but it was all there was in the darkness of this night.\u00a0 Would it be enough?\u00a0 Who knew what the dawn would bring?<\/p>\n A coyote howled in the distance; its wail a forlorn banshee\u2019s cry.\u00a0 Unknown dangers lurked elsewhere in the darkness.\u00a0 The smell of blood drifted faintly on the night breeze.\u00a0 Eyes were everywhere, if invisible, beyond the dim circle of the firelight.\u00a0 Every now and again, an inebriated glance came the captive\u2019s way.\u00a0 The silence of pride and fear was maintained.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Pulling back the curtain, Ben stared out the window, but the solitude surrounding him offered no answers to his questioning soul.\u00a0 Hop Sing had gone to the kitchen to prepare a meal that Ben was certain he would have no appetite to eat, and Little Joe was finally sleeping more peacefully.\u00a0 The doctor had not administered a sedative, so pain had kept the boy restless throughout the hours since Hoss had left.\u00a0 Though he never fully woke, he moaned repeatedly.\u00a0 Worse, he continued to call out his oldest brother’s name, and Ben had driven himself near mad trying to interpret the meaning of that single word.\u00a0 Was Little Joe shouting out an accusation against Adam, as the sheriff had assumed, or, as his father believed, calling to him for help?\u00a0 But if that were the case, why only Adam?\u00a0 Why didn’t he call out at least once “Pa!” or “Hoss!”\u00a0 They’d both been his lifelong protectors, too, as surely as his oldest brother.<\/p>\n Once, it had even sounded as if the boy were pleading in agitated concern over some danger to Adam, although Ben suspected that might have been his imagination, the product of the apprehension he himself felt for his missing eldest son. He was consumed by his urgent desire for any explanation other than the one he feared most: \u00a0that Adam was in some way responsible for his little brother’s critical condition.\u00a0 Adam’s mysterious trip to San Francisco, then that trip to Placerville for no reason that anyone knew, and the possibility that they were being trailed.\u00a0 All of it seemed to add up to some kind of mess that had led to Joe being hurt, and it seemed that Adam might be the one responsible for getting his brother mixed up in it.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Chapter 5<\/p>\n Long after the search party had left the Ponderosa, Joe stirred.<\/p>\n \u201cPa.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m here, son.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWater.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet me get you some fresh.\u201d\u00a0 No sooner had Ben called for Hop Sing, Dr. Martin appeared.<\/p>\n \u201cI let myself in.\u00a0\u00a0 Well, I see our patient is awake.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust now.\u00a0 He\u2019s not sweating as much.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow is he sleeping?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot well.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJoe?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe managed a weak, \u201cHi, Doc.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI suppose you\u2019re fine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s bothering you most?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHead.\u00a0 Someone\u2019s driving a railroad spike into my brain.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSomeone whacked you pretty hard.\u00a0 Try not to move too much.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThirsty.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a sign of dehydration.\u00a0 Joe, it\u2019s important that you swallow as much water as you can stomach.<\/p>\n Ben pulled Joe forward and placed pillows behind his back while the doctor poured a glass of water from the pitcher Hop Sing brought in.<\/p>\n After drinking his fill, Joe submitted to the doctor\u2019s examination.\u00a0 More than his head hurt but he wouldn\u2019t admit it.<\/p>\n Paul checked the wound on Joe\u2019s scalp.\u00a0 \u201cThe stitches are healing nicely.\u00a0 Keep applying Hop Sing\u2019s miracle salve and you shouldn\u2019t see the scar.\u00a0 Ben, he needs lots of water and rest more than anything, but some beef broth would be of benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHop Sing has some simmering now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood.\u00a0 Now, Joe.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been reluctant to give you anything for the pain until you regained consciousness.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to leave some powders here on the nightstand.\u00a0 You drink that broth, and then you can have some pain medicine.\u00a0 Okay?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure, doc.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd Ben, you can discontinue the cold cloths for now, but if he gets clammy and starts sweating again, resume immediately.\u00a0 Send for me if there is any change.\u201d<\/p>\n After Paul left, Ben took hold of Joe\u2019s hand and once again asked urgently, \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDid you and Adam have another fight?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u00a0\u00a0 No, Pa!\u00a0 We resolved our issues while we were in Sacramento before we headed home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHoss said he saw Adam riding west away from camp and then they found you nearly beaten to death.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI gave as good as I got until . . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUntil whoever did this took a bludgeon to you!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI held them off long enough to\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2014to let Adam escape, is that it?\u00a0 Why was it so important for Adam to get away?\u00a0 He\u2019s watched over you your whole life.\u00a0\u00a0 I know he would not leave unless it were a matter of life and death.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe turned away from the searching eyes of his father.\u00a0 He had badgered his brother relentlessly because all his life he had hated being kept in the dark; hated the secrets Adam and Hoss shared.\u00a0 Hated being left out.\u00a0 But afterwards, when he has seen the stricken look on Adam\u2019s face, he only cared that Adam was in trouble.\u00a0 Bad, bad trouble.\u00a0 What did he tell Pa?<\/p>\n \u201cNothing. You hear me, Joe? You are to say nothing to Pa about this. This is my business and I\u2019ll handle it. I don\u2019t want you involved even if you want to be.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re together. Aren\u2019t I already involved?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNo. You just stay with Hoss and Candy. Leave this to me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIs this something to do with that business in Placerville?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou followed me? Oh, of course you did. Yes, something to do with that.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou some kind of Pinkerton now, is that it?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNo. I work for the government.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re a spy?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cA secret agent, then. You have information important to the Union that someone else might want.”<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSomething like that.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n And in that moment, Joe learned a simple:\u00a0 knowledge was not power.\u00a0 Knowledge was unbridled, gut-wrenching fear.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe turned back to his father and swallowed hard.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know, Pa.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know who those men were or where Adam went when he left me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, of course, not!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHoss saw him ride away, then he and Candy found you badly beaten.\u00a0 What was anyone to think?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhere\u2019s Hoss now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe, Candy, and Roy are out looking for him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, criminy!\u201d<\/p>\n Joe leaned back against the pillows and shielded his eyes with an elbow.\u00a0 Make that two railroad spikes!<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d like to sleep awhile before having that broth, if you don\u2019t mind.\u201d<\/p>\n Remembering Paul\u2019s words, Ben filled the glass on the nightstand, \u201cYou keep drinking, do you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYessir.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe broth will be ready whenever you wake up.\u201d\u00a0 He stood and straightened the sheet over Joe.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t you worry, son.\u00a0 We\u2019ll get to the bottom of this.\u201d<\/p>\n Once the door closed, Joe sat up and mixed one of the powders into the water glass and drank it.\u00a0 Bleaugh<\/em>!\u00a0 He stood cautiously and removed his night shirt, letting it fall to the floor.\u00a0 His battered body protested when he twisted to view his backside in the guest room\u2019s cheval mirror.\u00a0 His skin was colored black and blue from neck to toes, front to back.\u00a0 Those men, whoever they were, sure knew how to inflict maximum pain without breaking any bones.<\/p>\n Feeling shaky, Joe reached for the footboard and eased himself back onto the bed.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t even stand up for five seconds; how was he going to get upstairs to get dressed?\u00a0 Then he spotted neatly folded clean clothes on the chair.\u00a0 Thank you, Hop Sing!<\/em><\/p>\n Joe exited the French doors into the yard and entered the kitchen door.\u00a0 The pot of beef broth was simmering on the back burner as Pa promised.\u00a0 He ladled some into a mug and sipped it slowly, letting the salty, rich broth work its magic.\u00a0\u00a0 He had finished a second helping before he spotted Hop Sing\u2019s notepad.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Deprived of rest himself over the last few days, Ben fell asleep in his red chair, unaware of the passage of time until the book he had been reading fell from his lap with a loud thud on the floor.\u00a0 Startled, he rubbed his face with his hands and glanced at the grandfather clock.\u00a0 7:30\u202fp.m.\u00a0\u00a0 He\u2019d been asleep for nearly six hours.\u00a0 Joseph!<\/p>\n Ben hurried into the guest room and found the bed empty.\u00a0 Calling his son\u2019s name again, Ben raced upstairs.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s bedroom was vacant, as were the others.\u00a0 A search of the downstairs was equally fruitless until he entered the kitchen.\u00a0\u00a0 On the butcher top table was a note in Joe\u2019s distinctive handwriting:<\/p>\n I\u2019m sorry.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Chapter 6<\/p>\n After slipping outside, Joe saddled his horse and rounded the far side of the barn without being detected.\u00a0 His father wouldn\u2019t be happy, but Adam\u2019s life was at stake and he couldn\u2019t lie around in bed while others decided the outcome.\u00a0 He\u2019d helped his brother escape from camp, dusted over his tracks, but there\u2019d been no word on his whereabouts since.\u00a0 Secrets had been told, and he kept that confidence from his family.\u00a0 Deep inside he felt guilty, but Adam had insisted he keep his mouth shut.\u00a0 Though he didn\u2019t know all the details, something was amiss, and his brother was in trouble.\u00a0 If the men who beat him and left him for dead were on Adam\u2019s trail, the least he could do was help even the odds.<\/p>\n After making camp, about thirty miles west of the ranch house, the last thing he expected was visitors.\u00a0 When riders approached, he grabbed his pistol and moved away from the fire, but Cochise was a dead giveaway.\u00a0 His two-toned flank showed brightly from the flickering flames of the campfire.<\/p>\n \u201cJoe?\u00a0 You here, Buddy?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe stood from his crouched position behind a woody scrub.\u00a0 \u201cCandy?\u201d\u00a0 He squinted at the stranger mounted next to his friend and had no recollection of ever seeing the man before.\u00a0 What was going on?\u00a0 Was this some kind of trick?\u00a0 As he moved into the light, both men dismounted, but Joe kept his Colt leveled at the unfamiliar rider.<\/p>\n The stranger wasn\u2019t armed; in fact, he barely wore enough clothing to keep a body warm.\u00a0 Tattered, gray pants had been tied at the waist with a rope.\u00a0 No shirt, no boots, no hat.\u00a0 His facial features were larger than most and his skin was as black as coal.<\/p>\n \u201cWho\u2019s your friend?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMoses,\u201d he said and shot Joe a toothy grin.\u00a0 He turned toward the man at his side.\u00a0 \u201cMoses, this is Joe Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n Although they acknowledged each other with a quick nod, a name didn\u2019t explain why they rode together, and Joe was unsettled by Candy\u2019s quick smile, but his friend was like that at times.\u00a0 Not so much secretive or deceptive, but not laying out the whole truth either.\u00a0 He holstered his gun.<\/p>\n \u201cThought you were with the Roy and Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was.\u00a0 Hoss and I showed them the camp, the one where you fought like a good little soldier but lost the battle.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe rolled his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI was outnumbered, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u00a0 That was plain to see.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell? \u00a0You find out anything?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou know how Hoss is.\u00a0 He studies the tracks and enlightens everyone with his version of what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGo on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe found your saddlebags.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs that it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss says you roll your right foot.\u00a0 He found your prints, but I learned something that interested Roy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah?\u00a0 What\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSomething about you kicking over an outhouse.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe ducked his head and raked his fingers through his hair.\u00a0 \u201cIs that all?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u00a0 Hoss said you covered Adam\u2019s tracks so he could hightail it outta there.<\/p>\n When Joe smiled, Candy\u2019s eyebrows shot upward.\u00a0 \u201cYou mean you did?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYep.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDang, he\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey took your Pa\u2019s whiskey.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDamn.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOne more thing, Joe.\u00a0 Those men are or were soldiers; it\u2019s hard to tell which.\u00a0 Probably Confederate.\u00a0 Roy knows that now, and Hoss stayed with him and the hired hands.\u00a0 They\u2019ll probably head west toward Shingle Springs \u2026 unless they find some sign of Adam along the way.\u201d\u00a0 When Joe\u2019s features tightened, and he pressed his free hand to the side of his head, Candy asked Moses if he\u2019d put up the horses.\u00a0 After handing the black man his reins, he turned his focus on Joe.\u00a0 \u201cYou look like hell, Buddy.\u201d<\/p>\n Leading him by the arm, Candy guided Joe toward the upturned saddle next to the fire and sat down beside him.\u00a0 Joe was in no shape to hunt down the men who did this to him, but Joe was foolish that way.\u00a0 Though he could only see his face\u2014mottled with cuts and bruises\u2014Candy had no doubt that the rest of his body looked the same.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m okay.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDoc told you to stay in bed, didn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cConcussion?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n Conversation with Joe Cartwright could be entertaining, but when he was in a foul mood, his answers became disconcerting at best.\u00a0 From the short time Candy had lived and worked on the ranch, he tried to read Joe.\u00a0 At times, he excelled.\u00a0 Other times, he was at a loss, and this was one of those times.\u00a0 Joe never should\u2019ve left the house and Ben Cartwright was probably on the warpath.\u00a0 He\u2019d do what he could to keep Joe safe, but his friend\u2019s unpredictable behavior often made the task more challenging than he cared to admit.<\/p>\n \u201cTell me more about Moses,\u201d Joe said.<\/p>\n Knowing he only had bits and pieces of the story, Candy motioned the black man to sit down with them.\u00a0 \u201cThe men who beat you and Adam were holding Moses for ransom.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRansom,\u201d Candy repeated.\u00a0 \u201cThe promise of a reward for capturing a runaway can be in the thousands.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA runaway?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA slave, Joe.\u00a0 A runaway slave.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh.\u201d\u00a0 Joe cupped his hands to both sides of his head.\u00a0 The railroad spikes were back, demanding attention and setting every nerve on fire.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u00a0 I can barely think straight.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhich is why you need to lie down and rest.\u00a0 Moses and I\u2019ll keep watch.\u201d<\/p>\n Pulling his bedroll close to his chin, Joe accepted Candy\u2019s request without argument.\u00a0 Though he still didn\u2019t know why his friend rode with an unfamiliar black man, tomorrow would come soon enough.\u00a0 Adam was out there alone and was in some kind of trouble, but Candy was right.\u00a0 He needed sleep.<\/p>\n Was Moses part of the deal?\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t wrap his mind around the answers.\u00a0 Was Adam a spy or some kind of government agent?\u00a0 That blow to his head had beaten any sense of clarity right out of him.\u00a0 His brother\u2019s explanation had become a jumbled mess of confusion he couldn\u2019t set straight.<\/p>\n Sleep had served him well, though, and by sunrise, he threw off his bedroll, gathered twigs for a fire, and had coffee on to boil before anyone else woke.\u00a0 When Candy rolled to his feet and knelt down next to the fire, Joe had a few choice words to say.<\/p>\n \u201cGood watchdog you turned out to be.\u201d<\/p>\n Candy rubbed the back of his neck before giving Joe a sheepish grin.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019s Moses?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCan\u2019t you hear him snore?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, sorry, Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBet you are.\u201d\u00a0 Joe\u2019s mood hadn\u2019t improved, but he poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Candy.\u00a0 \u201cHere.\u00a0 This ought to wake you up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThanks.\u00a0 Do we have a plan?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know about you, but I came to find my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a good plan.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI thought so.\u00a0 Tell me more about Moses.\u201d<\/p>\n While beans warmed over the fire, the two young men moved to sit on a fallen log.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know all the facts, but the men who captured Moses are the same men who are after Adam.\u00a0 It\u2019s all connected somehow.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe ones that slammed my head into the next county?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u00a0 Same bunch.\u201d<\/p>\n Still not seeing the whole picture, Joe put a question to Candy.\u00a0 \u201cSo \u2026 how is it that Moses rides with you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRoy sent me back to the Ponderosa late yesterday afternoon to find out what you remembered.\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t ridden far when I heard men talking, and I slipped in as close as I could to their camp without being seen.\u00a0 I saw Moses first.\u00a0 He was tied to a tree and only one thing came to mind\u2014a runaway.\u00a0 One man profiting off another never set well with me, and I cut him loose.\u00a0 We hid until dark and those fellas were so wasted by then, I stole one of their horses and we headed this way.\u00a0 End of story.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo besides stealing another man\u2019s property, you decided to become a horse thief too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYep.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe closed his eyes and filled his lungs before blowing the intake out slowly.\u00a0 \u201cYou wake your friend and I\u2019ll dish up the beans.\u00a0 We better clear outta here soon.\u201d<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Without a trace, the group\u2019s captive had escaped into the night.\u00a0 \u201cYou worthless bunch of drunks,\u201d the captain shouted when he woke the following morning.\u00a0 \u201cNo one thought to check our prisoner, our cash-cow?\u201d<\/p>\n The men had become low on funds and exchanging the Mississippi slave for cash would have kept their fight alive and well for another few months.\u00a0 The Cause mattered, and no one would stand in their way, especially the likes of Adam Cartwright.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t see you checkin\u2019 him neither, Captain.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShut up, Fool.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\n The Captain stared at the tree where they\u2019d tied the stolen property.\u00a0 Good, decent men but fools.\u00a0 Damn fools the lot of \u2018em.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cIt had to be Cartwright.\u00a0 No one else knew about the darkie but him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t think Cartwright ran?\u00a0 You think he hunted us down, instead?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou got a better notion?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, Sir.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen shut your damn mouth and mount up.\u00a0 This time, he won\u2019t get away.\u00a0 This time, he\u2019s a dead man.\u201d<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Chapter 7<\/p>\n Joe pushed hard, too hard; the nagging fear for Adam driving him on.\u00a0 But he was still flesh and blood like any other man.\u00a0 When Candy saw him reel in his saddle, he called a halt.\u00a0 At first, Joe was inclined to argue, but something in those calm blue eyes changed his mind.\u00a0 Besides, the railroad spikes were back and accompanied by the train, running over his side. Dismounting wasn\u2019t pretty, and he caught the smirk on the other man\u2019s face.<\/p>\n \u201cLook, why don\u2019t you go and lie down.\u00a0 I\u2019ll take care of the horses.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe shuffled over to where Moses was building a fire to cook some bacon.\u00a0 He eased himself down on a friendly-looking boulder, not sure he could make the ground and get up again.<\/p>\n Candy brought over Joe\u2019s saddle and bedroll.\u00a0 Laying it down, he hitched Joe off his rock down onto it.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, I don\u2019t need . . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAw, shut up Joe.\u00a0 You may as well be comfortable while you eat.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe scowled and grumbled, \u201cAll right, but we ain\u2019t staying long.\u201d<\/p>\n His friend grinned.\u00a0 \u201cIf you ain\u2019t the stubbornnest critter.\u201d<\/p>\n Candy fixed coffee.\u00a0 Too intent on his goal and discomfort for talk, no conversation passed between them.\u00a0 Now, with his pain receding from acute agony to manageable misery, Joe was ready to ask questions.<\/p>\n \u201cHow come you ran into me where you did?\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t expected to meet anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLike I said, Roy asked me to ride back to the Ponderosa to find out what you remembered.\u00a0 Then I was supposed to\u2026 shoot!\u201d\u00a0 Candy snapped his fingers across his chest.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m supposed to send a wire to every town in a 200-mile radius.\u00a0 Hoss and Roy were gonna check in wherever they were.\u201d<\/p>\n This time it was Joe\u2019s turn to smirk.\u00a0 \u201cGuess you\u2019ll hav\u2019ta leave me then.\u201d<\/p>\n Candy grunted and poured the coffee.\u00a0 \u201cRight. \u00a0Hell\u2019ll freeze over before that happens.\u00a0 You\u2019re stuck with me.\u201d<\/p>\n Rolling his eyes, Joe wondered how he\u2019d managed to acquire another mother-hen.\u00a0 Shifting his position, his eyes wandered to the other man in camp, surprised to find his intense gaze on him.<\/p>\n \u201cMoses, isn\u2019t it?\u201d\u00a0 The black man nodded.\u00a0 Joe asked, \u201cCare to tell us your story?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLike the man says, I\u2019s a runaway slave.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow did you end up here?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEven where I lived, we heard \u2018bout the war.\u00a0 I\u2019s born a slave an\u2019 lived my whole life as one.\u00a0 There ain\u2019t been a day I weren\u2019t beat.\u00a0 When we heard white folks had gone to war ta set us free, I thought to get me sum a dat freedom.\u00a0 Doin\u2019 okay too.\u00a0 Made it all the way here.\u00a0 Then I ran inta them fellas.\u201d\u00a0 Absently Joe sipped his coffee, but his eyes never left Moses.\u00a0 \u201cLike I told yer friend.\u00a0 They\u2019s gonna send me back.\u00a0 Said I\u2019d get them a mighty fine reward. Seems I\u2019s worth a lot of money.\u201d\u00a0 Moses paused in his task, desolation in his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cWhen I\u2019s six, Massah sold me.\u00a0 I\u2019s jest put in a wagon one day and taken away.\u00a0 Few years back, I\u2019s in love with a girl on da plantation.\u00a0 I\u2019s ask permission ta make her my woman.\u00a0 I\u2019s got twenty lashes that day coz a slave don\u2019t get ta ask.\u201d\u00a0 Bewilderment rippled through his voice,\u00a0 \u201cHow can a body be worthless an\u2019 be valuable at the same time?\u201d<\/p>\n Candy and Joe\u2019s exchanged glances.\u00a0 Neither knew what to say.<\/p>\n Finally, Joe asked, \u201cThose men who held you.\u00a0 They were Confederates, right?\u00a0 That\u2019s why they were gonna use you for the reward?\u00a0 Did they say what they were doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n Moses shook his head.<\/p>\n Joe took a sip of coffee.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t sure he believed him, but he\u2019d obviously been through a lot, so Joe didn\u2019t press it.<\/p>\n Candy frowned, \u201cConfederates?\u00a0 Then they\u2019re soldiers or at least ex-army.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow d\u2019you know that?\u201d<\/p>\n Candy filled Joe in on what they\u2019d discovered at the camp, then demanded,\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s a bunch of Confederate soldiers doing chasing after Adam?\u00a0 He got himself mixed up in the war?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe hesitated and considered how much to tell Candy, bearing in mind Adam\u2019s wish to say nothing.\u00a0 Of course, big brother had been referring to Pa.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know how Adam is.\u201d Joe blew out his cheeks.\u00a0 \u201cAll I know is he has something those men want.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe some sort of government agent?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe flicked a glance at Moses before answering, \u201cYeah, something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Candy let out a long whistle. \u00a0\u201cYou Cartwrights sure know how to make life interestin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Sitting forward, Moses asked, \u201cYour brother\u2019s name . . . Adam Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s right, why?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThem fellas that held me.\u00a0 They\u2019s after him all right.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOnce they grabbed me, they took me along with them.\u00a0 They\u2019s searching for someone, an\u2019 they caught him.\u00a0 They wanted somethin\u2019 bad.\u00a0 They searched every stitch that fella was wearing, an\u2019 then they tore his gear apart.\u201d<\/p>\n Fear leapt into Joe\u2019s throat, \u201cThis was Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, another man.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t catch his name, but he were brave.\u00a0 I\u2019s seen men tortured an\u2019 beaten but nothin\u2019 like they did to him.\u00a0 They kept askin\u2019 and askin\u2019, \u2018Where is it?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Stone cold dread wound itself around Joe\u2019s heart.\u00a0 He looked up at Candy the horror in his face, reflecting his own.<\/p>\n \u201cThat man held out a long time, but in the end, he describes a fella to \u2018em an\u2019 tells them a name.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAdam Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n Moses nodded, \u201cDat\u2019s right, an\u2019 where he\u2019s headed.\u00a0 They killed dat poor fella.\u00a0 Wished I\u2019d hears his name. \u00a0I\u2019s liked to say a prayer for him.\u201d\u00a0 Moses stared into the pan, then shaking out of his reverie, added,\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d sure like to meet them men again with a gun in my hand.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe\u2019s green eyes shone.\u00a0 \u201cIf they\u2019re chasing Adam, you may get that wish.\u201d<\/p>\n Candy\u2019s eyes met Moses\u2019 as Joe dropped his half-eaten plate of food, lay back and closed his eyes.<\/p>\n A frown furrowed Joe\u2019s brow.\u00a0 His mind a whirl of worry and pain.\u00a0 Where was Adam?\u00a0 Had he gotten away?\u00a0 Where were the men chasing him?\u00a0 The pounding in his head began to fade as sleep crept up and claimed him.<\/p>\n Candy tiptoed across and lay a blanket over Joe\u2019s sleeping form.\u00a0 Looking at Moses, he put a finger to his lips.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n The further west the search party moved, the itchier Hoss\u2019 scalp had gotten.\u00a0 When they stopped to rest the horses, he\u2019d taken his moment to talk with Roy.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019re you thinking, boy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t like it.\u00a0 I ain\u2019t picked up a sign of Adam for miles.\u00a0 We can\u2019t keep pushin\u2019 in the hopes of running over him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat should we do?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss scratched his head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m gonna head back to where I lost Adam\u2019s trail.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut that\u2019s way back at Lake Tahoe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know that,\u201d Hoss snapped, letting his concern seep out.\u00a0 Roy held his peace.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t like Hoss.\u00a0 Already regretting his flash of temper, Hoss apologized, \u201cSorry Roy.\u00a0 Look, you and the boys push on to the next town.\u00a0 Check to see if there\u2019s any sign of Adam and if there\u2019s a wire from Candy.\u00a0 If there\u2019s no sign of him, double back an\u2019 meet up with me.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss travelled as fast as he could in the continuing heat since leaving Roy and the men yesterday afternoon.\u00a0 He was only a few miles from Lake Tahoe, but the sense of urgency, like a burr under his saddle, wasn\u2019t letting up.\u00a0 He reined Chubb in and pushed his hat back to wipe his brow.<\/p>\n Why couldn\u2019t Adam have told them what was going on?\u00a0 Whatever trouble he was in, he had to know they\u2019d stand by him.\u00a0 Instead, dadblamed older brother had to play the martyr and take the world on his shoulders.\u00a0 He hated being kept in the dark as much as Joe.\u00a0 Hoss shut his eyes briefly as the vision of his younger brother\u2019s battered body flashed across his mind.<\/p>\n He shuddered, recalling that desperate ride home\u2014how he\u2019d cradled Joe in his arms like a helpless babe, holding him close so he could feel him breathing, and how his heart climbed every time Joe struggled back to consciousness, only to plummet when he drifted off again.<\/p>\n \u201cDadburnit, Adam!\u00a0 Why do you always have to keep secrets?\u00a0 Why couldn\u2019t you trust us?\u201d \u00a0Shaking off his frustration, he urged his horse forward, \u201cC\u2019mon Chubb, somethin\u2019 tells me we need to hurry.\u201d<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n After riding most of the night and up again before dawn, Ben was tired, frustrated, and worried.\u00a0 Joe could have left anytime during the six hours he\u2019d slept.\u00a0 Of course, if the situation had been reversed, Ben would\u2019ve insisted his sons wait \u2018till morning before going after him.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Hoss had told him where the attack took place, and he was familiar with the area.\u00a0 If Joe had run off to help his brother, he\u2019d need to start his search from there.\u00a0 Whatever was going on, he was determined to track down at least one of his sons.<\/p>\n Grim-faced, he raised himself in his stirrups to survey the country before him.\u00a0 Anticipation coursed through him at the thought of what he would do when he caught up with his youngest.\u00a0 He remembered his condition the last time he\u2019d seen him.\u00a0 Mark me, Joseph Francis Cartwright, if you\u2019re able to stand upright when I find you, you won\u2019t be for very long.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n Putting heels to flank, he raced forward.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Captain Dampeer sipped at his bitter coffee and reviewed their situation.\u00a0 His orders had been short, simple and clear: \u00a0find Miller and retrieve the information.\u00a0 What it was didn\u2019t concern him, he knew all he needed.\u00a0 Well, they\u2019d found Miller, but too late, he\u2019d already passed it on.\u00a0 They\u2019d tracked that man down, only to have him slip through their fingers.<\/p>\n He looked around his camp.\u00a0 Letting his men keep the whiskey they\u2019d found had been a mistake, and they\u2019d lost valuable time and the slave because of it.\u00a0 He chewed them out, but he was in charge and responsible.\u00a0 Maybe, I\u2019ve been out here too long.<\/em><\/p>\n They were all good men, young men, fighting for what they believed in.\u00a0 Some of them \u00a0too young, in his opinion.\u00a0 His gaze rested on a tow-haired stripling reading a letter, so creased and tattered it was falling apart.\u00a0 The Captain smiled.\u00a0 The boy carried it everywhere, read it over and over.\u00a0 From the childhood sweetheart, he\u2019d married at fifteen.\u00a0 She\u2019d written to say she was expecting their first baby.\u00a0 The Captain sniffed, calculating time.\u00a0 Probably had the child by now.<\/em>\u00a0 Drifting off the boy, he let his eyes move to the next man.\u00a0 Crowley, there was a good man who\u2019d given up everything for his beliefs.\u00a0 His father and brother had joined the Union.\u00a0 He remembered Crowley telling them how his pa had spat in his face and told him he need never come back when he joined the Confederacy.\u00a0 So many men, giving up so much.<\/em>\u00a0 A grunt from behind drew his attention to another, busy sharpening a blade.\u00a0 Now there was a man with a chip on his shoulder a mile wide.\u00a0 Forest had lost all three of his younger brothers in the first skirmishes of the war.\u00a0 That man carried a hate hotter than Hades, and he\u2019d kill any Unionist that came within arms\u2019 length.\u00a0 The Captain shrugged; pity he hadn\u2019t been with the men who ambushed Cartwright.\u00a0 If he had, he\u2019d never have gotten off the ground.\u00a0 As it was . . . .<\/p>\n Tossing the dregs of his coffee aside, the Captain stood up.<\/p>\n \u201cAll right men.\u00a0 We got a Yankee to find.\u201d<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n \u201cWhy the hell didn\u2019t you wake me?\u201d<\/p>\n Candy scratched his head.\u00a0 He knew he\u2019d be mad, but he had a responsibility to Joe as well as Adam, more even.<\/p>\n \u201cLook, you could hardly stand when we stopped, and when you fell asleep, I figured you could do with it.\u00a0 What good are you to Adam like you were?\u00a0 It was a couple of hours, that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n Furious, Joe threw off his blanket and leapt up.\u00a0 His body told him painfully that wasn\u2019t smart, and he was forced to stop and catch his breath.<\/p>\n His eyes snapped around to catch Candy\u2019s told-you-so look.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d he rasped.\u00a0 \u201cIf I had to crawl on my hands and knees, it wouldn\u2019t stop me going to help my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking into those steely, determined eyes, Candy believed him.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, but before you fall down, you better get some of this inside you.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He wondered for a moment if Joe was going punch him out.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t be the first time.<\/em><\/p>\n Instead, he snatched the proffered coffee.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe glowered at his friend.\u00a0 \u201cYou better hope nothin\u2019 happened to Adam while you let me sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n Rolling his eyes, Candy put out the fire before saddling the horses.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Adam awoke with a start and took a moment to remember where he was.<\/p>\n How long had he lain here?<\/p>\n It\u2019d been a mistake removing his tack and saddle.\u00a0 When he\u2019d tried to lift it back on, the pain had been too much.\u00a0 Commonsense and necessity won out.\u00a0 He\u2019d stayed put.<\/p>\n Joe pounded flat.<\/em>\u00a0 The words haunted him.\u00a0 What had he done?\u00a0 When he\u2019d left camp, he meant to lead the men away from the others.\u00a0 Had he instead just abandoned his brother to face those men alone?<\/p>\n Adam cursed long and hard.\u00a0 What if Joe were dead?\u00a0 How could he face his father?\u00a0 Tell him he\u2019d ignored the one thing Pa had begged them not to do\u2014bring the war into his house.\u00a0 That because of him, Pa had lost his youngest son.\u00a0 And for what?\u00a0 His ego?\u00a0 His arrogant pride?\u00a0 Thinking that he<\/em> could make a difference?\u00a0 Was his brother\u2019s life worth that?<\/p>\n Enough!\u00a0 <\/em>Adam pulled himself up.\u00a0 He\u2019d made his choice and set his path, he had to see it through.\u00a0 For Joe, if no one else.<\/p>\n He squinted up at the sky.\u00a0 Dawn had long since opened its rosy petals, and the sun was well up.\u00a0 Setting his jaw, he pushed himself upright and found he could move without the same level of agony.<\/p>\n Bit by bit, he dragged his saddle over to his horse.\u00a0 Taking it firmly in his good hand, he pulled it up his legs to his chest.\u00a0 Leaning back, he managed to heave it over Sport\u2019s back.\u00a0 Taking a moment to get his breath and allow his limbs to stop shaking, he began to tighten the cinches.<\/p>\n Ghostlike, he slipped out of the grove.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Chapter 8<\/p>\n As darkness loomed and shadows grew long obscuring the road ahead, Adam paused and knew he had to decide what to do. After riding all day without dismounting, he was afraid that if he got off his horse, he wouldn’t be able to get back on.\u00a0 He had taken breaks to rest his horse and water him but did so while in the saddle. With pain from a broken collarbone, a likely concussion, and numerous injuries from blows he had taken, it had sapped his energy just to breathe.\u00a0 He was further weakened by only having jerky and water for nourishment since he had escaped. Worry over his little brother had further drained his strength as did the stress of eluding the men who wanted him dead. Dropping his head, he wondered if he could make the rest of the journey in his present state. If he fell from his horse, the mission was over. If he dismounted and couldn’t get back on his horse in the morning, again, he had failed. It was such a dilemma, he struggled to form a coherent thought. He needed a plan, but what he got was what he at first thought was a hallucination.<\/p>\n “It’s all right, son, we’ve got you.”<\/p>\n Adam smiled. Great, just what I need: imagining Pa is here to help.<\/em> Except the next thing was a strong set of arms reaching to help him from the saddle as those warm strong hands peeled the reins from his hands.<\/p>\n “I got ya, brother.\u00a0 Just let Pa have Sport.”<\/p>\n Turning slightly, Adam saw his father and Hoss. In relief, he closed his eyes and collapsed in his large brother’s arms. When he next opened his eyes, he was resting on a bedroll next to a campfire with his father bathing his face and arms. He felt a tightness around his neck and shoulder with another band around his chest.\u00a0 He realized that they had put his left arm in a sling to support the collarbone and wrapped his cracked ribs. The relief was amazing after days of suffering.<\/p>\n “Hungry?”<\/p>\n His father’s voice was salve, but there was something he needed to know first. “Joe? Pa, where’s Joe?”<\/p>\n “I wish I knew. Darn fool boy went looking for you when he should have stayed in bed.”<\/p>\n “He’s alive?”<\/p>\n “He sure is. Ain’t nothing can keep that boy down long.”<\/p>\n “He’s looking for me, isn\u2019t he? That’s dangerous.”<\/p>\n “Yeah, now why don’t you tell us what that’s all about. Me and Pa wanta help, but it’s dang hard knowing what to do when we ain’t so sure what the heck is going on. Nobody ‘cept Joe seems to have any idea, and he didn’t say much to Pa.\u00a0 We was searching for you, and Roy sure as heck didn’t have any idea what you was up to.”<\/p>\n “Searching?”<\/p>\n Ben intervened. “Joe took off after you without telling us what happened.\u00a0 He said he didn\u2019t remember, but now I doubt that\u2019s the case.\u201d<\/p>\n Suspecting there was more to that, Adam knew there would be time to discuss it later. There were more important matters they needed to talk about.<\/p>\n “I left Roy and the others when they headed toward Shingle Springs,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cI rode hard this way ’cause I had a gut feeling you was going this way. When I came across Pa, he told me the little that Joe had told him.”<\/p>\n It was time for Adam to explain. “There have been some silver mine owners who have been secretly siphoning silver and some gold to ship to the Confederacy. I was asked by the territorial governor to join an effort to uncover those men and stop that flow. We weren’t having much success until an agent got someone into the operation. They got a record of who was involved and passed it to me. I was supposed to get it to San Francisco. Soldiers were to be dispatched then to arrest the men involved.”<\/p>\n “What went wrong?”<\/p>\n “They got to that agent and got my name from him.\u00a0 Joe did what he could to let me escape. They would have killed me. They still will if they catch me.”<\/p>\n “Who are they?”<\/p>\n “Former Union soldiers who have taken up the Confederate cause and whose job it is to keep that flow going.\u00a0 They have to be stopped.”<\/p>\n In full father mode, Ben cautioned him. “You’re in no shape to help with that.”<\/p>\n “No, nor do I have the experience to do it, but once the Army has the names in that book, it will be ended.”<\/p>\n It was Hoss’ turn to look perplexed, and he had another question. “Joe was helping you and gave you time to run?” Adam agreed. “Why was you so mad at him before then?”<\/p>\n “I didn’t want to involve any of you, and with his damn eavesdropping and snooping, he found out quite a bit of what I was doing. To get him to stop, I had to tell him.” Adam couldn’t keep the edge from his voice. Both Ben and Hoss could hear the irritation he still felt about Joe butting into his business.<\/p>\n “Seems like it might a been a good thing this time.”<\/p>\n Not ready to concede that point, Adam wasn’t going to give up either. They left that there, but Ben had one more question.<\/p>\n “Why were you headed toward Placerville?”<\/p>\n “Actually, I thought I would try to catch the stage to Carson City.\u00a0 From there, I could head over to Fort Churchill.\u00a0 Hurt as I was, it seemed like was a better idea than trying to get to San Francisco, which was the original plan.”<\/p>\n “You still like that plan?”\u00a0 Ben asked.<\/p>\n A smirk was his answer. Adam was in no shape to ride to Fort Churchill.<\/p>\n “Tomorrow we’ll get you to Friday\u2019s Station to catch the stage, and I’ll ride with you from Carson City to Fort Churchill. Hoss will wait for Joe and keep him there until he’s ready to travel.”<\/p>\n “Sounds like that will work. Now I am hungry.”\u00a0 All smiled as Adam reminded them of Ben’s original question.<\/p>\n As they ate, Adam had another question. He assumed his father had stayed home to care for an injured Joe, and Hoss had said he was with the searchers. “How did you two meet up out here?”<\/p>\n Hoss said, “When I left the search party, I looked for signs of your trail once I got far enough. I thought I found your camp. Looked like you’d been there a while. I was following your track when Pa rode near.”<\/p>\n “Shocked me to hear his voice,\u201d Ben said, \u201cbut once we realized you were headed this way, we gave up following your trail and just headed toward the road so we could make faster time. Hoss said you were riding slowly. We guessed you were hurt.”<\/p>\n “Glad you found me. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.”<\/p>\n Both Ben and Hoss saw Adam was close to exhaustion. His cheeks were sunken, and his complexion was as pale as he could get. He was shiny with sweat indicating a low fever. In the morning, Ben was going to offer to help him shave, knowing how that would help him feel more like himself. Hoss had already checked his saddlebags and found a clean shirt. As Adam leaned back and closed his eyes, Hoss and Ben looked over at each other and nodded. Adam was safe. Now they had to find Joe.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Finding Joe turned out to be easier than they thought.\u00a0 As they headed out that morning, three riders emerged from the trees up ahead, and no one could mistake two of those grins.\u00a0 Joe greeted them as they rode closer.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat took you so long, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben shook his head looking at his youngest who clearly should have been in a bed recuperating.\u00a0\u00a0However, there wasn\u2019t any point to stating the obvious.\u00a0\u00a0After briefing the three on what Adam had told them, and introducing Moses to Adam and Ben, they went back to the plan.\u00a0\u00a0Together they would go to Friday\u2019s Station and get not only Adam and Ben on board the stage but Joe, too, if possible.<\/p>\n As they rode toward the Placerville road, Ben was uneasy and saw that Hoss and Adam kept shifting in the saddle and looking around too. It was Hoss who suggested they stop and talk about it.\u00a0 Candy and Joe listened intently as Moses glanced all around, nervous because the others were clearly concerned.<\/p>\n Hoss was the first to voice his worry.\u00a0 “Pa, I think we’re being watched. I keep thinking I see something and then there’s nothing there.”<\/p>\n Both Ben and Adam had the same thought. Ben decided the best method was to spread out. He took the forward position and Hoss took the rear. In a confrontation, Adam was to find a defensible position and the others would do their best to get there. As they rode, Adam kept looking for places to take cover as Ben scouted around for any threats and Hoss watched for any movement.<\/p>\n In the trees up ahead, Captain Dampeer swore. “Damn civilian has some military training. All right, we’ll do this the brute way.\u201d His men stepped out with their guns in a show of force.<\/p>\n As planned, Adam rode for a defensive position after only a brief pause and like him, Ben followed with the others there a short time later. From cover, they looked out at Captain Dampeer, and Ben yelled at him.<\/p>\n “What do you want?”<\/p>\n “You know what I want. I want Adam Cartwright and that damn book he has.\u00a0 The rest of you can go free.” Looking over at Adam, Ben knew it was up to his son.<\/p>\n Adam retorted, “All right, what are your terms?”<\/p>\n “Easy, you and the book for them.”<\/p>\n “Why me?”<\/p>\n “You’ve read the book.”<\/p>\n Adam didn’t argue. No reasonable man would believe he hadn’t read what was in it.\u00a0 Pulling the book from inside his shirt still in the oiled leather that encased it, Adam handed it to Hoss.<\/p>\n \u201cThere it is.\u00a0 Giving it to them won\u2019t save us.\u00a0 They want me dead, but he won\u2019t let you go.\u00a0 You know that, don\u2019t you?\u201d Adam yelled out, \u201cNo Deal!\u201d<\/p>\n On the other side, Dampeer\u2019s men wanted to know what they had to do.<\/p>\n \u201cCartwright read that book.\u00a0 All those men over there have to be killed. Then we can go.”<\/p>\n His men didn’t like hearing that. In hostile territory, they had remained safe by staying on the move. Staying in one place so long and making so much noise made them nervous. There was no doubt that there was going to be a lot more noise involved in killing the six men huddled in the rocks a hundred yards away.<\/p>\n From cover, \u00a0Ben did a quick assessment that no one liked. “We’ve got six tired horses and can\u2019t make a run for it.\u00a0 We have six men to fight them, but two are hurt. We’re outnumbered at least two to one. We’ve got a good position if we can hold out long enough for some kind of help to arrive, but who knows how long it could take for someone to notice all the noise and then decide to investigate.”<\/p>\n “Pa, what’s the bad news?”<\/p>\n Ben made no comment about his eldest son\u2019s attempt at gallows humor. Adam sat with his arms wrapped around his middle and his face furrowed with lines from the pain. Next to him, Joe leaned against the same rock, obviously needing some care too, but there was nothing Ben could do for either of them.<\/p>\n “I think we’ll be safe until tonight. They won’t try anything against us in daylight. They know what would happen with a direct assault against this position with our firepower.”<\/p>\n “So what we need is some way to make it difficult for them at night too.” Ben agreed and Adam continued. “I have an idea. It will only work once.”<\/p>\n That night, when the expected assault came, Candy threw lit torches out to light up the attacking men for them to target more easily. Adam, Candy, and Joe had used their limited resources of dirty clothing and some bacon grease from their provisions to make them that afternoon. They wouldn’t be able to use that method again. However, it bought them some time, and it reduced the odds against them somewhat because they killed or wounded several on the other side. They couldn’t be sure, but it felt good to do some damage to those who had hurt Adam and Joe. It was at least a small measure of justice.<\/p>\n Clearly, Dampeer and his men were getting impatient. Early that next morning, Adam and the others saw them bringing their horses down the road and getting ready to ride.<\/p>\n “Do you think they’re leaving, Pa?”<\/p>\n “No, Joe, I expect we’re going to see a full mounted assault.”<\/p>\n “They’ll lose some men that way.”<\/p>\n “Yes, son, they will.”<\/p>\n What Ben left unsaid was that six men on foot were no match for that kind of assault.<\/p>\n They wouldn’t survive the morning. As Dampeer and the others mounted up, the captain yelled out an offer.<\/p>\n “Adam Cartwright, come out and surrender and save your family and friends. You have no other choice.”<\/p>\n Everyone was shocked by what they heard next. Sheriff Roy Coffee stepped from the trees with a rifle casually laid across his arm.\u00a0 His badge shone brightly in the morning light.<\/p>\n “Now, I do think they’ve got another choice. They kin stay right where they are, and you can drop your weapons and put your hands in the air.”<\/p>\n Captain Dampeer was incredulous. “For you? One more to help them doesn’t make a bit of difference to me. We’re not surrendering to some small-town sheriff.”<\/p>\n “Oh, no, not to me. I was jest telling you to surrender. You’ll be surrendering to the Army of the United States of America. The major here will take you back to California with him to stand trial for murder and other acts of mayhem against citizens of the United States.”<\/p>\n As the major stepped up beside Sheriff Coffee, blue-coated soldiers began to emerge from the trees all around the Confederate forces until there were nearly fifty of them. Dampeer said nothing and his men were frozen in place. Roy continued.<\/p>\n “You see, you referred to one of your men as ‘soldier’ when you were in Placerville. You were overheard, and that was reported to the sheriff there who relayed the information to the nearest garrison in California and to a few other places where I\u2019d been asking questions. They’ve known for some time that a small unit was operating behind the lines here but could never get enough information to know where you were. Good of you to give them a clue like that.”<\/p>\n Knowing he might face the death penalty, Dampeer moved to draw his weapon. He was cut down before he had a chance to get the pistol from the holster. His men dropped their weapons immediately. The soldiers took them into custody putting them in irons. Roy and the major went to see Ben and the others. The major asked which one had the information that was needed.<\/p>\n “I do,” Adam said.<\/p>\n The major took the book and thanked him before leaving with the prisoners. He had already received a report from Joe and from Ben as to what the men had done, and Moses told him what they had done to Miller.<\/p>\n As the soldiers rode off, Hoss had a question for Roy. “Not that I’m not grateful, but how’d you get here? I thought you were going to Shingle Springs.”<\/p>\n “Well, when you left, I couldn’t get over that feeling that maybe you were right. I know how you are with those gut feelings of yours. I split the search group in two. Some men came with me and we rode hard to try to catch up to you. When I got to Placerville, they said none of you had been there. Now seeing as all of you was ahead of me, I figured you musta gotten in some trouble. I met up with the major, and he was looking for these soldiers, so we put our heads together and decided to come this way. We heard some shooting last night, and he sent his scouts to find out what was going on. We came on foot to surprise ’em.”<\/p>\n “Lordy, sure surprised us!”\u00a0 Hoss grinned broadly.<\/p>\n “Tarnation, it was a darn good surprise, too.”\u00a0 Ben slapped Roy on the shoulder.<\/p>\n Once they got everything packed up, the whole group headed to Friday\u2019s Station for rest, recuperation, good food, and soft beds.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Although Adam didn’t want it, he was forced to accept Hoss’ help to get into the stage. Joe came next and almost managed the steps, but still sore from his injuries, Hoss gave him a small boost, too. \u00a0Ben and Roy stood beside the stage as the two settled into seats inside. \u00a0Almost immediately, the bickering began.<\/p>\n “I hate riding in stages.”<\/p>\n “If you hadn’t stuck your nose in my business, you wouldn’t have to ride in the stage.”<\/p>\n “Oh, yeah, neither would you because you’d probably be dead by now. You should be grateful I helped you.”<\/p>\n “Helped? You got yourself nearly killed. I don’t need that kind of help.”<\/p>\n “Well, you need some kind of help. You certainly couldn’t do it by yourself. You would be dead by now doing it your way.”<\/p>\n Outside, Ben rolled his eyes as Roy listened and had to comment. “Are they always like that, fighting and arguing and such?”<\/p>\n Hoss had an answer to that. “Nah, Roy, it ain’t fighting and arguing. It’s how they tell each other how they care. You see, Adam is saying how he’s sorry Joe got hurt.”<\/p>\n “Oh, what’s Joe saying?”<\/p>\n “Oh, he’s saying Adam is one hard-headed fool.”<\/p>\n Joe and Adam stopped talking for a time, wondering at the raucous laughter from Ben, Hoss, and Roy. Then as the stage began to move, they began again. Not much had changed.<\/p>\n Watching the stage roll down the road, Candy leaned on a hitching post and turned to Moses.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhat do you plan to do now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t got no plans.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure ya do!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Hoss had walked up behind the two.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou\u2019re coming with us.\u00a0\u00a0With what you did, you\u2019re part of the Ponderosa now same as the rest of us ifn you want to be.\u00a0\u00a0You can try it out.\u00a0\u00a0If you don\u2019t like it, then we\u2019ll get you provisioned up enough for you to travel wherever you want to go.\u00a0\u00a0How\u2019s that sound?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSounds fine.\u00a0\u00a0Mo\u2019 than I\u2019s expected.\u201d<\/p>\n Candy slapped Moses on the shoulder.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s the Cartwright way.\u00a0\u00a0You treat them right; they treat you right.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI likes dat.\u201d<\/p>\n As they rode toward home, Ben couldn\u2019t stop a smile as he gazed at Lake Tahoe.\u00a0\u00a0He was proud of his sons, and proud of the men they had as friends.<\/p>\n The End<\/p>\n